Volunteer work in Philadelphia?

Do I still have a chance in the Peace Corps? Or is additional volunteer work a waste of time?

• I received my response to my Peace Corps application today," We are interested in your application; however, there are currently no available programs that fit the skills you bring to Peace Corps" I have already started looking into volunteer tutoring for English as a Second Language with 3 organizations. I actually go to an orientation tomorrow. I will be beginning volunteer work with the Boys & Girls Club next month. I also found free Spanish classes to take on Craigslist. My questions is... What are the odds that I can get in with all this additional volunteer work? Has someone done this before? Were you able to proceed with the application process after about three months of all the extra volunteer work? Are there just too many applicants, and they don't need me at all even with the volunteer work? I'm kind of devastated that I didn't even get an interview, but I don't want to give up. I really really want this, but I also don't want to get my hopes up if this is just a waste of time. Any advice? Recruiters/Peace Corps Volunteers are you out there?

• Answer:

  You didn't say what your skills were. 89% of all PCVs have a college degree; host countries like people with degrees. Last year the Peace Corps has 11,000 applicants and accepted 4,000. If you have a degree, sooner o rlater a job teaching English as a foreign language will come along. If you don't have a degree, your chances are pretty dim.